menu_book Chapter 47

section forty seven of hymns kringle by snorri stirlson translated by george pope morris and eiriker magnusen this this is the recording is in the public domain the story of olaf the holy part eighteen chapter two hundred and fifty three through two hundred and sixty five chapter two hundred and fifty three of the laws of king spain king spain brought new laws into the land for many matters which were framed after the manner of the laws of denmark but some nickel harder no man was to fare out of the land but by the leave of the king but should he go without his goods were forfeited to the king whoso should slay a man should forfeit both lands and chattels if a man were in outlawry an inheritance should fall to him then gat the king that inheritance at yule every man was to bring the king a measure of malt for every hearth and a thigh of a three winter ox that was called pasture tod

and a keg of butter withal and every housewife was to give housewife's tow that is to say so much of undressed flax as might be spanned by the biggest finger and the longest the bonders were bound to build all such houses as the king would have at his manors every seven men older than five years old should make one man more fit and therewith have thol thong every one who rowed out for deep-sea fishing should pay the king land toll whencesoever he rowed five fishes to it every ship sailing away from the land should keep for the king one room right athwart the ship every man who should go to iceland should pay land tax were he inlander or outlander that followed this that danes should have such mickle account in norway that the witness of one of them should undo the witness of ten norwegians but when these laws were laid bare before all folk men began forthwith to raise their minds against them and murmured among themselves and those who had taken no part in withstanding king olaf would say take ye now up thrandheimers the friendship and reward at the hands of the nightlings for fighting king olaf and cutting him off from his land

ye were promised peace and bettered laws and now ye get bondage and thraldom and thereto huge misdeeds and nithing and it was not easy to speak against this for all men saw that matters had gone unhappily but men had no trust to make uprising against kings fyne for this sake mostly that men had given their sons or close kinsmen as hostages to king and this withal that there was no one to be leader to the uprising soon people had many plaintes to make against king svein yet men laid most blame on alfiva for all that went against the people's mind and then the true tale about king olaf could be got from many a man chapter two hundred and fifty four now comes up the holiness of king olaf that winter uphove the word of many men there in thrandheim that king olaf was a truly holy man and that many tokens befell at his holy relic and then many began to make vows to king olaf about those matters whereon they had set their hearts from such vows many folk got bettering some the bettering of their health some good speed for journeys and other such things as were looked upon as needful

chapter two hundred and fifty five of einar thambarskelfer einar thambarskelfer was by now come back west away from england to his lands and had on hand such grants as king canute had gotten to him when they met in thrandheim and all that came nigh to an earl's dominion einar thambarskelfer had not been in the withstanding of king olaf and of this he boasted himself einar bore in mind how canute had promised him earldom over norway and saw that the king did not keep his behests einar was the first among the mighty men to uphold the holiness of king olaf chapter two hundred and fifty six of the sons of arni then the son of arni tarried but a short time at egja with kalf his brother for he took it most sorely to heart that kalf had been in the battle against king olaf and for that sake finn would ever be laying heavy words on thorberg son of arni was much more ruled of his speech than finn yet desired he also to fare away to his own house so kauf gave to the brothers a good long ship with all rigging and other gear and a good company and they fared back to their homesteads

arne arneson lay long sick of his wounds yet grew he whole thereof and was unmaimed and afterwards he went that winter south to his home all these brethren took truce for themselves from king svein and settled down in quiet at their homes chapter two hundred and fifty seven the flight of bishop sigurd out of the land next summer there grew up mickle talk about the holiness of king olaf and all word-rumor about the king was changed there were many now who took it forsooth that the king would be a holy man even among them who had erst gone against him with full hatred and would not in any way own the truth about him now folk began to turn to whiting them who had most egged on to the withstanding of the king and much of that white was laid at the door of bishop and men became there so much his unfriends that he saw that his best choice was to fare away and west to england to see king canute then the men of thrandheim made men and were sending to the uplands that bishop grimkul should come north to king olaf had sent bishop grimkul back to norway when the king went east to garth realm and sythens had bishop grimkul been in the uplands and when this message came to the bishop he arrayed himself to go forthwith on that journey

and this urged him much that the bishop trod that it was true what was said about king olaf's working of miracles and of his holiness chapter two hundred and fifty eight the holy relics of king olaf taken up bishop grimcol went to see einar thrambar skulfer and einar gave the bishop a hearty welcome and they spoke about many matters and this withal of the great tidings which had befallen in the land and in all their talk they were of one accord together sythun spared the bishop up to chippingham and there all the folk gave him a good welcome he speared heedfully at all the wonders that were told of king olaf and heard tell well thereof then the bishop sent word up to sticklestead to thorgils and grim his son and summoned them down to the town to meet him there the father and son laid not that journey under their head but fared down to the town to meet the bishop and they told him all those tokens whereof they had knowledge and this withal where they had bestowed the body of the king then the bishop sent for einar thambarskelfer and he also came to the town and he and einar spake with the king and with alfiva praying that the king would give leave to take king olaf's body out of the earth

the king gave leave thereto and bade the bishop go about that matter as he would there was then mickle throng of folk in the town so the bishop and einar and other men with them fared thereto whereas the body of the king was buried and let digging be done there and the chest was then come up well nigh out of the earth many men urged that the bishop should let the chest be buried in earth at clement's church and so it was done and when twelve months and five nights were worn from the death of king olaf his holy relic was taken up and again the chest was well-nigh come up out of the earth and then the chest of king olaf was as span knew as if it had been newly shaven then grimkul the bishop came up to where the chest of king olaf was opened and was their glorious fragrance then the bishop bared the face of the king and in nowise had his visage turned and was as ruddy in the cheeks as they would be if he were just gone to sleep but herein men found mickle change even they who had seen king olaf when he fell that sithants had waxed his hair and his nails well nigh as much as they would if he had been alive here in the world all the while sithants he fell then came forth to see the body of king olaf king svein and all the chieftains who there were then spake alfiva wondrous slow do men rot in sand this would not have been so if he had lain in mould

then the bishop took a pair of scissors and sheared off the hair of the king and took somewhat off of his beard for he had had a long beard as was then the wont of men and the bishop spoke to the king and to alfiva now are the hair and the beard of the king as long as they were when he died and they have waxen by so much as ye now see has been cut off then answereth alfiva i shall deem this hair a holy relic if it burn not in fire but we have often seen the hair whole and unspoilt of men such as have lain longer in earth than this man has then the bishop let take fire in a censer and blessed it and laid incense thereon and sithins laid on the fire the hair of king olaf and when all the incense was burnt out the bishop took the hair out of the fire and then was the hair unburnt and the bishop let the king see that and the other chieftains withal and then alfava bade the hair be put in unhallowed fire but einar thambar skelfer answered and bade her hold her peace and chose for her many hard words and so the bishop declared and the king assented thereto and all the folk judged that king olaf was verily a holy man

then was the body of the king borne into clement's church and laid out over the high altar the chest was wrapped in pall and hangings of goodly web done around and straightway many marvels befell at the holy relic of king olaf chapter two hundred and fifty nine of the miracles of king olaf there in the sand-heap where king olaf had lain in earth there came up a fair well and many folk got healing of their ills of that water the well was built over and that water hath ever since been heedfully guarded first there was made a chapel there and the altar was reared where had been the tomb of the king but now stands on that stead christ's church and archbishop eistein had the high altar set up on that same stead where the king's tomb had been when he reared the great minster which now standeth and on that same stead had also stood the altar in the ancient christ church so it is said that olaf's church now stands where that waste outhouse stood where the body of king olaf was set night long that is now called olaf's lithe where the holy relic of the king was born a land up from the ship and is now in the midst of the town the bishop guarded the holy relic of the king cut his hair and nails because either grew even as if he were a living man here in the world so saith sigrot the skald

i lie if olaf own not like quick men scratching servants but the waxing of the king's hair that prays i most in singing yet unto him hair holdeth who left his son still growing in garth realm waldemar gat him woes loosing from the bright head the raran praise tongue wrought on svein alfivesen that lay which is called seacalms lay and wherein are found these staves now for himself hath a seat made handy the king of folk in thrandheim country there will ever all his lifetime that ring-breaker rule his dwelling there where olaf dwelt aforetime or ever he hied to heaven's kingdom and there became as all men wot it a hollow quick from a man of king folk harald's son had hard a-r-eded himself to be of heaven's kingdom ere the gold-breaker became peace prayerer the noblest king of christ beloved

there so clean with a whole body lieth in peace the king prays blessed so that there now like unto live men do hair and nail wax upon him there round his bed of boards arrayed of their own selves are the bells a-ringing and every day the folk may hear the sound of bells around the king but up above there over the altar candles burn to christ well-pleasing so hath olaf o'erever he died sinless all his own soul their hosts are coming where holy is the king himself and kneel for helping blind men and they that pray for speech words thither seek and thence go bid thou to olaf that man of god to win the brooking of his land here for he doth get from god himself the year and the peace for all men ever

when word thou openest unto the main bolt of the holy book speech thy very prayers thorarin praise tongue was with kings fine and heard these wondrous tokens of the holiness of king olaf that men might hear over his holy relic sounds made by heavenly powers in that bells rang themselves also that candles would light of themselves over the altar by a heavenly fire now even as thorarin says that to the holy olaf came an host of folk halt and blind or in other ways held of sickness and went thence healed but he tells of naught else nor setteth forth aught than that there must have been a multitude of men not to be counted who got healing than forthwith in the beginning of the miracle-working of the holy king olaf but of the miracles of king olaf only the greatest have been most written about and set forth and such as did the fall later than this chapter two hundred and sixty of the age and reign of king olaf so say men who count with care that olaf the holy was king over norway for fifteen winters from the time that earl swein went out of the land but the winter before he took the king's name of the uplanders so says sigvat the skald

or the land was olaf ruling for winters fully fifteen ere fell his hid the gracious as his life-grant came to ending what land-ruler more glorious hath ever claimed him kingship in the northmost world's end shorter he held him than he should have king olaf the holy was forty and five years old whenas he fell according to what the priest ari the learned says he had had twenty folk battles so says siglat the skald some men and god they troward diversely were folk-minded the king bold ready fought him a twenty of folk battles the famed one bad folk christened on his right hand be standing the lord god pray i welcome the flight shy magnus father now is written some part of the story of king olaf concerning certain of such tidings as befell while he ruled over norway also concerning the fall of him and the coming up of his holiness but now shall that not lie aloe which is of the greatest glory to him to wit the story of his doing of tokens though that be written later in this book chapter two hundred and sixty one of the thrandheim folk king sfyn the son of canute ruled over norway certain winters he was but a child of age and council

alfiva his mother had most to say in the rule of the land and the folk of the land were mickle unfriends of her both then and always sithens danish men had then in norway mickle mastery and the folk of the land were right ill-content thereat when such talk was had up the other men of the land whited the thrandheim folk that they had most wrought it king olaf the holy was cut off from his land and that the norway men had laid them under this evil rule whereby bondage and thraldin had stridden over all folk there rich men and unrich and all the folk and they claimed that the thrandheim men were in duty bound to aid an uprising to this end to thrust off from us this overmastery moreover the people of the land would have it that the thrandheim folk had the most strength in norway then both by reason of their chieftains and of the multitude of folk that was there for when the thrandheimers wist that the folk of the land was thus whiting them they owned to it that it was sooth speech and that a great folly had overtaken them whereas they had cut king olaf from both life and land and that therewithal their ill hap was with great evil

so the chiefs had meetings and took counsel together and einar thambarskelfer was at the head of these reeds so withal was it with kalf arneson that he found now into what a snare he had gone by the egging of king canute for the behests he had given to kalf were all broken for king canute had promised to kalf earldom and rule over all no way and kalf had been the head man in holding battle with king olaf and in cutting him off from his land but kalf had no higher titles now than erst and deemed he had been betrayed hence words passed between the brethren kalf and finn thorberg and arney and their brotherhood shaped itself again chapter two hundred and sixty two the outbidding of king svein when svein had been three winters in norway tidings were heard in norway that westover sea a flock was gathering and over it was a lord who was named and called himself son of olaf tryggleson and of gede the english and when king svein heard that an outland host would be coming to the land he called out a muster from the north of the land and most of the landed men fared with him out of frandheim

but einar thanbar skilfer sat at home and would not fare with king svein and when the word sending of king svein came to kalf up to egja that he should row to the war with the king then took kalf a craft of twenty benches which he owned and went aboard it with his housecarls and arrayed him in hot haste and then made down the firth and abode not king's fine sythence kalf went on south to myr nor stayed his journey till he came south to gizki to thorberg his brother then all the brethren the sons of arni had a meeting together and took counsel between them whereupon kalf went north again for when he came into frekail sound there lay before him in the sound king's vine with his host so when kalf rode from the south into the sound they called out to each other and the king's men bade kalf fall in and follow the king and ward his land kalf answered fully have i done it if i have not overdone it to fight with the folk of our own land in aid of the rule of the nightlings and so kalf and his rode north on their way and he went on until he came home to

none of the sons of arni rode this muster with the king now king's find held with his host south into the land and when he got no news of the host having come from the west he held on even unto rogoland and all the way to ogdir for men were minded to think that tryggvi but first want to make his way east into the wick for there his forefathers had been and had most avail at their back and there he had great strength in his kindred chapter two hundred and sixty three the fall of king tryggvi olafson king tryggvi when he came up from the west hove in with his host to hordland then he heard that king svine had sailed south then held king tryggvi south to rogueland but when king svine got the news of the journey of tryggvi whenas he was come from the west he turned back northward with his war host and the meeting of him and tryggly was in sight of bakken in soken sound near to the place where erling skjalgsin had fallen there befell a mickle battle and hard so men tell thereof that tryggly shot barbed shafts with both hands at once saying so learned me mass my father for his unfriends had said as much as that he would be the son of a certain priest but he boasted hereof that now he was more like to king olaf tryggvison and indeed tryggvi was a man of the doughtiest

in this battle fell king tryggvi together with many of his folk but some fled away and some came in under truce so it is said in the tryggvi flock fared tryggvi keen of honor from the northward unto battle but king svein took his faring from the south there fell the slaughter nigh to their fray then was i twas brought about right swiftly a host there lost their life-days there was the sword a yelling this battle is told of in that flock which was wrought about king svein woman twas not last sunday as when a maid is bearing the leek or the ale to man-folk there many a clean edge lauded when svein the king his lads bade to lash the bows of the war-ships together there to the raven raw flesh to tear was given after this battle king svein then ruled still the land and then good peace prevailed the winter following king svein sat behind south in the land chapter two hundred and sixty four

kalf arneson and einar thambarskelfer take counsel together that winter einar thambarskelfer and kalf the son of arni had meetings between them and contriving of reeds and were meeting in chippingham then there came to kalf arneson a messenger from king canute and bore him the message of king canute to wit that kalf should send him three twelves of axes and let them be much heedfully done calf answers not will i send axes to king knut tell him that i shall fetch axes to svain his son so that he shall not deem that he is short thereof chapter two hundred and sixty five the journey of einar thambar skelfer and calf arneson out of the land early in the spring they einar thambar skelfer and calf son of arni arrayed their journey and had with them a mickle following of men and that the best of all that was in the thrander lag they fared in the spring east over the keel to ayant land then to helsing land and next came down into sweden and there got a shipboard and in the summer fared east into garth realm and in the harvest came to

all diggerberg then they sent messengers up to holmgarth to see king gerasleif with this errand to wit that they bade to magnus the son of king olaf the holy that they would take him up and follow him to norway and give him strength hereto that he come by his father's heritage and that they uphold him for king over the land but when this message came to king jeresleif then took the he council with the queen and other of his chieftains and they were of one mind to send word to the northmen and to summon them thither to a meeting with king jeresleif and magnus and for that journey a safe conduct was given to them but when they came to holmgarth it was made fast between them that the northmen that there were should go under the hand of magnus and become his men and they bound this with oaths from kalf and those other men who had been at sticklestead against king olaf so magnus gave them pledges and full peace and bound it by oath that he should be to all of them trusty and true though he gat dominion and kingdom over norway he should be made foster-son of kalf arneson and kalf should be in duty bound to do all such works whereby magnus might deem that his dominion should be greater and freer than afore the story of olaf the holy part eighteen chapter two hundred and fifty three through two hundred and sixty five